Refusing to Listen to God’s Direction
April 1, 2019
Commentary
Even the dead would not escape God’s judgment. Jeremiah describes how the enemy will desecrate the graves which was a common practice in the warfare of that day. The bones of those who had died before the fall of Jerusalem would be removed from their graves and exposed to the elements they had once worshiped (vv. 1-2). Those who survived the fall of Jerusalem would be banished, and their lives would be so terrible that they would prefer death to life (v 3). The people refused to acknowledge any wrong doing and pursued their own ways with determination like a horse charging into battle (vv. 4-6). Even the birds observe the time of migration, but Judah did not realize that it was time to return to her God. She had even less wisdom than a bird (v. 7). The question here poses a greater question: whose message will you believe, the scribes who lie and tell you what you want to hear or Jeremiah’s message of repentance (v. 8)? The “scribes” claimed to be the legitimate interpreters of some written portion of the Law.
The leaders of Judah boasted of their wisdom. They had the Law of God; they did not think they needed a prophet like Jeremiah. All the spiritual leaders were “greedy for gain.” They were not objective in the advice which they gave out (vv. 8-10). Jeremiah cited an example of the deceitful messages of the priests and prophets (vv. 11-12). The kingdom of Judah faced invasion, siege, exile, and political extinction. Jeremiah likened this fate to a disease which he called “the brokenness of the daughter of my people.” The spiritual leaders were attempting to “heal” this disease superficially.
Application
The people of Judah refused to listen to God’s direction. Are there some indicators that I am heading the wrong way in some area of my life? What am I doing to get back on the right path?
Jeremiah 8:1– 12 (NET)
1 The Lord says, “When that time comes, the bones of the kings of Judah and its leaders, the bones of the priests and prophets, and of all the other people who lived in Jerusalem will be dug up from their graves. 2 They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon, and the stars. These are things they adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, from which they sought guidance and worshiped. The bones of these people will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. 3 However, I will leave some of these wicked people alive and banish them to other places. But wherever these people who survive may go, they will wish they had died rather than lived,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
4 The Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘The Lord says, Do people not get back up when they fall down? Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way?
5 Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem continually turn away from me in apostasy? They hold fast to their deception. They refuse to turn back to me.
6 I have listened to them very carefully, but they do not speak honestly. None of them regrets the evil he has done. None of them says, “I have done wrong!” All of them persist in their own wayward course like a horse charging recklessly into battle.
7 Even the stork knows when it is time to move on. The turtledove, swallow, and crane recognize the normal times for their migration. But my people pay no attention to what I, the Lord, require of them.
8 How can you say, “We are wise! We have the law of the Lord”? The truth is, those who teach it have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean.
9 Your wise men will be put to shame. They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment. Since they have rejected the Lord’s message, what wisdom do they really have?
10 So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike all practice deceit.
11 They offer only superficial help for the hurt my dear people have suffered. They say, “Everything will be all right!” But everything is not all right.
12 Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting things? No, they are not at all ashamed! They do not even know how to blush. So they will die just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them, says the Lord.
Illustration: Adding Jesus to Budda And Confucius
American missionaries went to Japan after WWII and multitudes were coming forward to be saved but they seemed to lack genuine conviction. Decisions seemed to be superficial. They came to realize that in the Japanese culture they are taught that when you are conquered, you have a moral obligation to accept the God of the ones who conquered you, so they were just adding Jesus to Buddha and Confucius and other gods. The missionaries changed their invitation to: deny Buddha/Confucius, and accept Christ as the only true God. Then only a few would truly do that. (Source Unknown).